Flare buoy



April 23, 1957 .1. s. SAWICKI FLARE BUOY Filed May 4, 1953 INVENTOR. k J oszvu S. SAwmKu Maw AT TORNEYS FLARE BUOY Joseph S. Sawieki, Detroit, Mich.

Application May 4, 1953, Serial No. 352,620

4 Claims. (Cl. 1027)' The present invention relates to an emergency signal particularly but not exclusively adapted for use by aircraft which may be required to fly over bodies of water where forced or crash landings may occur. It may also be used aboard ships or boats which may have occasion to use distress signals.

One of the dangers connected with flying over water is that if the plane should be forced down, survivors may be adrift for extended periods of time without being located by searching planes or ships. Under certain circumstances it is necessary that assistance reach the survivors promptly if their lives are to be saved. This is particularly true if they are injured or if the plane has crashed in cold or icy waters where survivors can remain alive in the water for only a matter of minutes.

Heretofore, the conventional type of device used for launching an emergency flare has been manually operate-d so that it can be of value in time of trouble only if some person is available and in condition to fire the same. in the event :of a crash at least one survivor must be able to find the conventional device in the plane before he abandons the same, and he must carry such device with him and fire it when the opportunity presents itself.

Needless to say, this is a veryprecarious. and unsatisfactory arrangement, and seldom do survivors of plane crashes have the opportunity to fire emergency distress flares or signals.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a signal flare launcher for use with aircraft or other seagoing vessels which may have occasion to use distress flares, said launcher being automatic. in operation. so that it will launch a flare a predetermined time after it has been immersed in water, it being constructed and arranged so that the time interval for launching the flare can be preselected so that, if desired, several of such launchers, each with a difierent launching time, may be used with each of the said aircraft or sea-going vessels, thereby providing a series of signal flares at desired time intervals following a sea disaster.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic signal flare launcher of the foregoing character which is constructed and arranged topermit chang' ing of the preselected time interval for launching the flare, thereby allowing use of standard equipment for all launchers embodying the present invention.

It is still another object of the present invention to pro vide a novel firing mechanism for use in an automatic signalling device, said mechanism being constructed and arranged to activate the device when a. liquid sensitive element of the mechanism is contacted by a liquid.

It is still another object of the present invention to pro vide an automatic flare launcher of the foregoing character which includes means for controlling the rate of entry of liquid into the interior thereof so that such liquid will contact the sensitive element a predetermined time after the launcher has been immersed in the liquid.

.Still another object of the present ,inventionis to pro vide an automatic signalling device which. can-be coo:

'ice

nomically manufactured and which has a simple firing mechanism so that it will be operable with little or no maintenance being required.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a section of a loaded automatic signal flare launcher embodying the present invention,

. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of the firing mechanism used in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view drawn to a reduced scale of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology em ployed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring now to the drawings a more detailed description of the illustrated embodiment of the invention will be given. The automatic signal flare launcher 10 has a housing 12 formed from an upper section 14 and a lower section 16 which have lateral flanges 18 and 20 adapted removably joining said sections.

Located between the abutting flanges 18 and 20 is a gasket 21 and a disc 22 on the upper side of which is mounted the chamber 24 for carrying the signal flare 26, and on the lower side of which is mounted the firing mechanism 28. The chamber 24 is formed by a sleeve 30 which is threadedly connected to the disc 22 at 32, and a rubber like ring member 34 is used to maintainthe sleeve 30 snugly in its threaded joint. Another rubberlike ring member or collar 36 is fitted on the outside of sleeve 30 so that when the latter is screwed into its threaded joint the collar 36 will be drawn snugly against the upper edge of section 14 closing off the opening between said section 14 and sleeve 30.

The signal flare 26 is placed inside the chamber 24 by unscrewing the sleeve 30 and inserting the flare 26 into the lower end of sleeve 30, after which the latter is again screwed into its proper operating position shown in Fig. l.

The firing mechanism 28 includes a firing pin 38 shown in its cocked position in Fig. 1, which pin is adapted to be projected through the opening 40 to contact the percussion cap of the lower end of flare 26. The firing pin 38 is carried on the plunger 42 which has a piston 44 adapted to be moved axially within the cylinder 46. The latter is closed at its lower end by the closure cap 48 and a compression spring 59 is disposed between the piston 44 and the cap 48 so as to bias the plunger .2 upwardly.

When it is desired to cock the firing mechanism 28 the latter is first removed from the housing 12 by loosening the plurality of. screws 52 and thereafter turning the upper section 14 relative to the lower section 16 so that the heads of screws 52 can be drawn through the enlarged the path of piston 44 before the flare 26 can be fired. This operation of releasing the piston 44 so as to fire the flare 26 is accomplished by a cam shaft 60 which has a cam 62 in engagement with the lower end of the flat spring 58 so that on rotation of the cam shaft 60 the cam 62 will press the flat spring 58 outwardly thereby withdrawing the pin 56.

The cam shaft 60 is rotatably mounted on the V-shaped strap 64. Mounted against rotation on one end of the shaft 60 is the arm 66. The latter has a coil spring 68 tending to rotate the arm 66 in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, and a rod 70 pivotally connected to its other end. Extending laterally from the closure cap 48 is a stationary plate 72 to which the coil spring 68 is connected. The plate 72 also has an aperture 74 through which the rod 70 extends.

The aperture 74 is greater in diameter than the diameter of rod 70 and connected to the lower end of the latter is a disc 76 of greater diameter than the aperture 74 so as to prevent the lower end of the rod 70 from passing upward through the same. In the present embodiment the disc 76 is made from blotter paper which has been soaked in a starch solution and allowed to dry.

When the disc 76 is wetted by a liquid, such as water, it becomes soft and is pulled through the aperture 74 by the spring 68 which simultaneously causes rotation of cam shaft 60, thus effecting the withdrawal of pin 56 so that the firing mechanism 28 is actuated.

From the foregoing it can be seen that the flare 26 will be launched as soon as water contacts the disc 74. It will be readily understood that other discs which are sensitive to the action of water so as to be softened or dissolved thereby may be used in the present invention.

In order to determine the time of launching the signal flare 26, it is only necessary to regulate the rate of flow of the water into the housing 12. This is accomplished by means of the insert 78 which has an aperture 80 a1- lowing water to enter the housing 12. The insert is screwed into the inlet duct 82 of the weighted base member 84 which is screwed into the bottom of the lower section i6. An air vent 86 is provided in the upper section i4 so that when water enters the housing the air within the housing can escape through the vent 86. Thus, when it is desired to launch a signal flare it is only necessary to throw the signal flare launcher into water and the launcher 10 will float in an upright position while water is entering through the aperture 80. As soon as the water has risen sufliciently high to wet the disc 76 the firing pin 38 will be released causing the flare to be launched.

. The insert 78 may have any desired size of aperture so that the length of time required to raise the water in the launcher 10 to the level of the disc 76 can be selectively varied. If desired, a valve having a variable sized opening may be used, or it is even contemplated that the time required to launched the flare 26 can be varied by controlling the rate of air discharge from the vent 86.

While the present invention has been described in connection with signal flares that are fired into the sky, it should be understood that it may also be used in conjunction with a flare which will burn in the chamber 24 thereby serving to light the waters surrounding the area of the Water disaster.

It is contemplated that several units embodying the present invention will be carried by aircraft or seagoing vessels, each unit having a different period of time for launching or igniting its flare so that after the disaster has occurred the flares will be set off at predetermined intervals, thus facilitating a quick rescue of the disaster victims if assistance is in the vicinity. The units will be mounted so that they will be discharged into the water if an aircraft should crash in the sea or if a vessel should capsize or sink. It will also be understood that the units can be manually thrown into the water if desired.

The firing mechanism 28 can also be used in other emergency units. For example, it may be desired to provide the aircraft or ship with a unit adapted to color the water at the scene of the disaster. In such a case the firing mechanism can release a coloring compound which will have the desired effect.

From the foregoing it can be seen that many new uses may be made of the present invention which will greatly aid in finding and saving the lives of victims of sea disasters.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An automatic signal flare launcher adapted to be used selectively either in firing a flare into the sky or in burning a flare in the launching chamber comprising a substantially closed housing being adapted to float in an upright position when the launcher is initially dropped into water, said housing having upper and lower sections joined together with a transverse support secured therebetween, the lower section having an opening in its bottom, a sleeve forming a launching chamber carried on said support and extending through the top of said housing with an unrestricted outlet exterior of said housing, a firing mechanism mounted on the underside of said support and having a firing pin biased on release for passing into said launching chamber, said firing mechanism including means responsive to contact by water for releasing said firing pin, and a relatively heavy flow control device fastened to the bottom of said housing and over said opening to maintain the housing in an upright position when floating in water and to control the rate of flow of water into said housing.

2. An automatic signal flare launcher adapted to be used selectively either in firing a flare into the sky or in burning a flare in the launching chamber comprising a substantially closed housing being adapted to float in an upright position when the launcher is initially dropped into water, said housing having upper and lower sections joined together with a transverse support secured there-. between, the upper section having an opening at its top, a sleeve forming a launching chamber mounted on said support and projecting through the opening in said upper section, a rubber-like collar carried on the projecting portion of said sleeve and overlying said housing to effect a water tight seal therebetween, a firing mechanism mounted on the underside of said support and having a firing pin biased on release for passing into said launching chamber, said firing mechanism including means responsive to contact by water for releasing said firing pin, said lower section having an opening in its bottom, and a relatively heavy flow control device closing the Opening in said bottom to maintain the housing in an upright position when floating in water and to control the rate of flow of water into said housing.

3. An automatic signal flare launcher adapted to be used selectively either in firing a flare into the sky or in burning a flare in the launching chamber comprising a housing having a lower compartment containing a firing mechanism and an upper compartment containing an open sleeve forming said launching chamber and extending through the top of the housing from which a flare can be projected into the sky, said compartments having relatively thin lightweight cylindrical walls with the lower compartment having an opening at its bottom, a relatively heavy flow control device closing the opening in said bottom to maintain the housing in an upright position when floating in water and to control the rate of flow of water into said housing, a partition disposed between saidcompartments from which said firing mechanism is suspended, said firing mechanism having a firing pin biased on release for passing into said launching chamber and including means responsive to contact by water for releasing said firing pin, said sleeve being mounted on the opposite side of said partition so that the firing mechanism can actuate a flare carried in said sleeve, and means releasably connected to said walls so that upon releasing said means the walls can be separated to enable access to be gained to the firing mechanism for cocking the latter.

4. An automatic signal flare launcher adapted to be used selectively either in firing a flare into the sky or in burning a flare in the launching chamber comprising a housing having a lower compartment containing a firing mechanism and an upper compartment containing an open sleeve forming said launching chamber and extending through the top of the housing from which a flare can be projected into the sky, said compartments having 10 relatively thin lightweight cylindrical walls with the lower compartment having an opening at its bottom, a relatively heavy flow control device closing the opening in said bottom to maintain the housing in an upright position when floating in water and to control the rate of flow of water into said housing, a partition disposed between said compartments from which said firing mechanism is suspended, said firing mechanism having a firing pin biased on release for passing into said launching chamber and includ- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 910,943 M-cCombie Jan. 26, 1909 947,904 Guerard Feb. 1, 1910 1,815,226 Anderson July 21, 1931 2,110,061 Gentzel Mar. 1, 1938 15 2,449,540 Albin Sept. 21, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS 271,432 Italy Feb. 18, 1930 577,905 Great Britain June 5, 1946 

